Consulting firms are betting on unproven VR diversity trainings. As one expert we talked to said, “Asking if someone enjoyed the training is different than measuring the efficacy of the training itself.”Quartz

Alcohol prices say a lot about a country. The cost of alcohol is highly correlated to overall cost of living in a country, but that doesn’t explain Bahrain and Germany.Quartz

Saudi’s Hajj cancellation isn’t the first time a plague has disrupted Muslims’ pilgrimage. Apart from disease—cholera was a “perennial threat” during the 19th and 20th centuries—armed conflicts, political disputes, and natural calamities have all been roadblocks.Quartz Africa

India’s most famous yoga guru’s ayurvedic treatment for Covid-19 has kicked up quite a storm. Coronil, a coronavirus treatment kit launched by Ramdev, founder of ayurveda giant Patanjali, has received notice after notice from government departments, a criminal complaint, and flak from the medical community.Quartz India

US coronavirus case growth set a single-day record. More than 36,000 new infections were recorded Thursday, surpassing a record set on April 25. Some 2.4 million coronavirus cases and at least 119,000 deaths have been confirmed to date in the US.Washington Post

And the most vulnerable parts of the country are disproportionately Black and Hispanic. Rural counties in Southern states are highly vulnerable to the disease, but that hasn’t stopped governors from resuming economic activity.Quartz

Even Wall Street doesn’t like that. The S&P 500 closed 2.6% lower on Thursday as the record rise in infections cast doubt on a swift economic recovery.CNBC

How do you measure a Covid-19 fatality? So far, the story of coronavirus has largely been told in death count, but some public health wonks use another measure of mortality you may not be familiar with: years of life lost, or YLLs.Quartz

Amazon has a new team to chase down and punish counterfeiters. Under pressure from the government—not to mention counterfeit-sensitive brands—Amazon has stepped up its efforts. Presenting: the Counterfeit Crimes Unit.Quartz

Can "good design" and the Black Lives Matter movement coexist? What if the very features that are meant to make technology easier and faster to navigate—like shortcuts and auto-complete functions—also encourage users to make snap judgements and put marginalized populations at risk.Quartz

Half of US broadcast network dramas are about cops. Perhaps one reason why America’s national reckoning on police brutality took so long to arrive is because TV is conditioning its citizens to view cops as reliable heroes.Quartz

Olympus is out of the camera business after 84 years. The Japanese company, whose products were once considered revolutionary, has struggled to cope with smartphones and an “extremely severe digital camera market.” It will now focus on its other optical technologies, such as microscopes and lenses.BBC News

Physical fashion shows will carry on. The question is why? The shows will comply with the recommendations of public health authorities, though it’s unclear what safety measures that might entail.Quartz

The oil and gas industry’s recruiting problem is about to get worse. The coronavirus pandemic could have a long-lasting impact on the oil and gas industry’s ability to recruit smart young people. ?Quartz

Do oil companies make sense anymore? Two risky paths forward are emerging for today’s oil and gas industry. Big Oil may not like either. ?Quartz

Suspending work visas will make the US even less desirable for international students. The data show that foreign student admissions to graduate-level computer science and engineering courses have already been declining during Trump's administration.Quartz India

It also won't help American job-seekers. US president Donald Trump's executive order will likely hurt the US economy in the long run. ?Quartz India

And Indian IT won’t collapse if it doesn’t get H-1B visas for one year. Experts believe that a series of recent changes by Indian IT companies will help them continue business as usual with less dependence on an immigrant workforce.Quartz India

Doctors are suing over age-based screening requirements. Nearly 150,000 US physicians age 65 or older are in active practice, accounting for 15% of the physician workforce. Some physicians argue that a test score may not adequately reflect one’s fitness to practice medicine, and that it all comes down to ageist stigma.Quartz

Coronavirus is renewing a call to abolish nursing homes. Even in normal times, nursing homes struggle with understaffing, poor infection control, and neglect. Are home- and community-based care options the answer?Quartz

Phenology is the close study of “nature’s clock,” from the grand rotation of the seasons to the minute behavior of a bumblebee. Natural observations have always been valuable, but as climate change has accelerated, phenology has acquired a sense of urgency. Whether you’re doing it for yourself or for science, phenology can offer a sense of comfort, engagement even in social isolation, and interspecies solidarity—all of which seem awfully relevant right now.Quartz

The oil company of the future is an energy company, or nothing at all. In a bonus edition of The Race to Zero Emissions, Michael J. Coren looks at how, for many firms, the coronavirus pandemic is a signal that peak oil demand may be closer than they thought—or even in the rearview mirror.Quartz

China’s new satellite system is more than just a challenge to GPS. Satellite navigational services are vital to the modern economy. And having your own is a question of geopolitics and national security. The latest Space Business will tell you all about it.Quartz